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ZIPPING INTO THE HOLIDAYS T Right: Zippy’s manager Thomas Kehoe holds the latest Zippy’s special – stuffed opakapaka. The dish debuts Thanksgiving week at Zippy’s and is expected to be a big hit with customers.
Bottom Right: Stuffed opakapaka with imitation crab, shrimp and topped with a dill mustard sauce.
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here’s something of a buzz surrounding Zippy’s these days as the holiday season approaches — much of it to do with an anticipated rush on Thanksgiving Meals to Go. “We were so busy last year with our turkey dinners,” says Thomas Kehoe, Zippy’s Kahala manager, “that we’re expecting a really busy time again this year.” Thomas believes that one of the reasons for the growing popularity of Zippy’s holiday meals is convenience, and a taste of home-cooked comfort food. “People know what to expect when they’re getting Zippy’s mashed potatoes and gravy,” says Kehoe, “and our customers really like the stuffing and our dinner rolls. It’s food that they’re comfortable with, and that they know tastes good.” A word of warning, though: If you’re thinking of ordering and
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leaving the stress of turkey day cooking to the professionals, make the call right now. While there’s a huge number of meals to go being prepared (last year Zippy’s sold several thousand meals), they are not unlimited. Jay Crisologo and a number of other staff members helped man the phone lines last year, and this year they are preparing for the task with almost military-like precision. “We have a call center where we know how many turkeys are left at each location,” says Crisologo, “and we count down as people order. If a certain store sells out, we can direct customers to the next nearest store. Last year we were taking orders right up until 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve and sending people to the nearest Zippy’s locations to pick up. People were really happy to know they could pick up the entire meal. ” And while a Zippy’s-made Thanksgiving meal is indispensable if you’ve forgotten to defrost
the turkey or don’t have time to shop, it also can be a great gift. “We had so many customers last year buying the dinners as gifts,” says Crisologo. “And we had multiple orders from companies buying the meals as gifts to their employees.” There are a couple of different options with Meals To Go. A whole turkey package is $71.95 and includes a 10- to 12-pound pound cooked turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry/pineapple relish and a dozen sweet dinner rolls. A second, smaller option, features half a turkey (about 5– 6 pounds of roast turkey), comes with the same selection of side dishes and costs just $37.95. Desserts, including pumpkin or custard pies, can be added for just $6.70 more when you purchase them at the same time you order your meal to go. “The desserts and the appetizer platters are really popular too,” says Crisologo. “People like to be able to pick up a platter of sushi or pupu if they’re going somewhere for dinner.” With 48 hours advance notice, you can pick up a sushi platter — 40 pieces maki sushi, 12 pieces cucumber, 12 takuan and 10 pieces inari sushi — for $25.50 (Oahu only). Four party platters (like the one featured in the photo) also are offered. Prices range from $19.95 for Chicken Katsu, to $28.95 for a Korean Chicken Platter. The most popular Pupu Platter No. 1 ($23.95) features teri beef, chicken katsu, Portuguese sausage, mahimahi and hot dog.